It was hard to make an impression in the latest Sebastian Vettel benefit this past weekend in Singapore, but Sauber rookie Esteban Gutierrez shone brightly under the lights for really the first time this season.

Gutierrez hasn’t been horrible this year, but has found it difficult to emerge while working in the shadows of highly rated teammate Nico Hulkenberg. At Singapore, he made Q3 for the first time, outqualifying Hulkenberg, and missed his elusive first Formula One point in 12th place.

“Singapore has shown that I can,” Gutierrez wrote about his improvement in his latest F1 rookie diary on the series’ official website. “I love that track. It’s one of my favorites. I knew it already from last year’s GP2 race, so I knew what was coming my way, and oh boy, what a qualifying it was! My first time in Q3 – that ticked the box!”

Of the remaining six Grands Prix, Gutierrez will be new to the circuit at four of them. He participated in Free Practice 1 at India a year ago and has raced previously at Abu Dhabi, while he’ll tackle Japan, Korea, Austin and Brazil for the first time.

Gutierrez hasn’t found a comfort level yet despite putting 13 races under his belt, and continues to develop over the course of the season.

“You can never feel comfortable in Formula One. You are never in the comfort zone. I have learnt that if you are looking for job security you should probably look somewhere else,” he noted.